Affordable housing -- a topic which had previously been low on the civic radar screen -- was propelled to the forefront over the past year, as the public watched the Garden Springs struggle.

Facing eviction to make way for a new student-oriented apartment complex, Garden Springs residents found there were only a few parks in the county accepting trailers. And though apartments abound in Athens, few are priced comparably to the North Avenue mobile home park, where residents paid $165 per month to lodge their trailers.

In response to arguments that the Garden Springs situation is symptomatic of a larger housing problem, Athens-Clarke County's Human and Economic Development Department is due to complete a housing study this month. HED Director Keith McNeely said the study -- which borrows information from the 2000 census, area landlords and a half-dozen county offices -- will give county leaders a better understanding of any disparities between the county's housing stock and the income levels of its residents.

Maureen O'Brien, a landscape architect working with Garden Springs residents, said it's crucial for the county to establish such a housing inventory. But she hopes the county will also examine whether existing affordable housing is accessible to lower-income people who rely on buses or foot transportation.

''We might have seen some affordable housing, but a lot of it is pushed out at the edges of the county where it's not accessible,'' O'Brien said. ''Affordability and location have to be linked.''

McNeely said results of the study will be presented to county commissioners, but it's unclear at this point what -- if any -- action might come of it.

''That's something we'll have to sit down and hash out,'' he said.

Athens-Clarke Mayor Doc Eldridge said affordable housing will be on the list of topics at the commission's in-town retreat Thursday. He plans to ask commissioners whether the county's plans for a transferable development rights program -- which could increase property values in some in-town neighborhoods by increasing the development potential -- conflict with affordable housing goals.

''Do we really want to get into TDRs, or are we more interested in affordable housing? And how much do we want to bite off at once?'' Eldridge said. ''... The two issues aren't necessarily compatible.''

Though it remains unclear whether housing affordability will be addressed on a county level, Garden Springs residents say they feel they're making headway on other fronts.

Barbara Champion, head of Garden Springs' neighborhood organization, hopes Georgia legislators will soon adopt legislation that would require trailer park owners to notify tenants when a park is for sale, and give tenants the first opportunity to purchase the property. A similar law is already on the books in Florida.

Champion said she ''cried and prayed'' with happiness when she heard state Sen. Doug Haines, D-Athens, introduced such a bill Monday.